Royal charters and royal patronage were historically granted to organisations in Ireland by the Monarch of Ireland when all of Ireland was part of the Kingdom of Ireland and, later, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Since the independence of most of Ireland from the United Kingdom as the Irish Free State in December 1922, and the official abolition of the monarchy by the Constitution of Ireland in 1937 and the Republic of Ireland Act 1948, no new royal charters have been granted in the Republic of Ireland (Northern Ireland remains within the United Kingdom).
Despite the end of the monarchy in the Republic of Ireland, several organisations based in the Republic of Ireland have retained the "royal" element in their names. The continued use of this naming style in the Republic of Ireland is sometimes questioned by commentators as being outdated and a reminder of a colonial past. However, many of these organisations, such as the Royal Irish Academy, consider themselves to be All Ireland organisations, covering both Northern Ireland, which remains part of a monarchy, as well as the Republic of Ireland.